Top Brands: Beer market steady at the top, with a scrap below

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The biggest beer brands in the Scottish trade

By Dave Hunter

Beer has been one of the few success stories of the on-trade drinks scene over the past year, with sales of lager and stout both increasing by around £30 million a piece. 

As in previous years, SLTN’s data for Top Brands is supplied by CGA and compiled from the company’s OPMS tracker. 

In beer, only ale has had a rough ride over the past year, shrinking from £131m in 2024 to £122m this year. Have those drinkers gone to lager and stout? 

Looking at beer overall – incorporating all three beer styles as CGA defines them – the top three spots are unchanged from last year, with Tennent’s Lager, Guinness and Birra Moretti all retaining their spots. 

However, Madrí Excepcional has unseated Peroni as the fourth-biggest beer brand in the past year, with Stella holding steady in fifth place and Corona then moving two places up the list to sixth place. 

Menabrea and Beavertown Neck Oil have both worked their way into the top ten beer brands this year, unseating both Carling and Innis & Gunn. 

No one comes close to the Scottish institution of Tennent’s, though. 

And it’s a success the Wellpark team doesn’t take for granted, according to Kenny Gray – on-trade sales director for Scotland and Northern Ireland at Tennent’s parent company C&C Group. 

A businessman stands in front of a beer brand logo
Tennent’s Kenny Gray

“Taking top spot for another year is fantastic and we are incredibly proud to be Scotland’s leading alcohol brand in both the on and off-trade,” said Gray. 

“Our customers and the relationship that we have with them is at the heart of what we do, so to continue being the beer that they trust to stock is incredibly rewarding. 

“We’ve been producing Tennent’s for 140 years – that’s a lot of years we’ve been with consumers sharing many of their life moments. 

“Throughout this time our liquid has stayed the same; made using the finest Scottish ingredients and only ever brewed at Wellpark. 

“As a result, our customers know they can expect the same great quality lager they’ve come to know and love. 

“This is important amongst today’s consumers who have increased choice but are also mindful of cost.”

Scotland’s top 10 best selling beers

  1. TENNENT’S LAGER
  2. GUINNESS
  3. BIRRA MORETTI
  4. MADRÍ EXCEPCIONAL 
  5. PERONI 
  6. STELLA ARTOIS
  7. CORONA EXTRA
  8. BELHAVEN BEST
  9. MENABREA
  10. BEAVERTOWN NECK OIL

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